APHIS Small Lots of Seed Permit

[Robin Hansen]

I lost track of how much time I spent on the phone with APHIS and on the computer renewing (or in this case filling out a new application for a PPQ 587) the Small Lots of Seed permit.

Chris in the Maryland APHIS office freely admitted there are glitches in the eFile software and they are still working on it. Too bad they didn't thoroughly test and take feedback before going live....

One thing or several - make sure you give both street and mailing address if they are different. There isn't a place that I could see that asks specifically for street and mailing addresses, just address. He advised me that if not using Google Chrome, you may not see all the boxes you may need to click! Really?

When I called the help number, only limited help is available and if your problem isn't solved they refer you on to the Maryland number with the 301 prefix. You can bypass email help, etc. and just call that number directly. Less time is wasted. Just leave a detailed message as they're quick to call back.

I was able to get into the system eventually, going through 3 passwords before filling out a new application but when I clicked "Save and Exit", I missed another box to tick? When I went back in to try to sort out, it told me I had a draft, but no message saying I was finished. Chris went ahead, sorted that out, sent me the permit and the shipping certificates, both in PDF format.

There is no barcode on the new shipping certificates and you can ignore the numbers assigned to each one, instead using the same one over and over. Furthermore the permit is good for three years.

There is a YouTube video that was ok, but the PDF documents I received by email were hopeless, designed on 16x9 paper, full of so many colored shapes and muddled design it was difficult to read through. I gave up at that point and just called Maryland.

So, good luck and feel free to contact me or anyone who has experience with this not so well tested application. I will say the YouTube video (there are several - choose the one for PPQ 587) gave specific words to use in each section which I wrote down as I watched and those worked well when I finally was able to fill in the application.

Good Luck!

[petershaw]

I found the process to be much different. I applied for a permit to import some seed and the permit was approved in minutes. Gaining access to the shipping labels was more difficult due to some browser issues on my part.

However, the burden is really on the seed supplier to adhere to the rules.
The package must have a green/yellow shipping sticker and nothing else on the package with a list of 5 or 6 things inside the package.

I ordered 5 small packages ($22 worth) from the Netherlands and I am not sure I want to ask them to do this for me.

I will ask but for such a small order I will not be surprised if he declines.